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Merrimac, MA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Bike Audits
Description: Older adult volunteers will conduct a bike audit focused on areas they frequent. The audit will assess the condition of sidewalks and paths and inform efforts to implement an e-bike program.
Ottawa, OH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Bike Audits
Description: Ottawa lacked safe biking routes, leaving older adults and families without secure options for active travel. Volunteers rode key corridors to flag hazards and propose quick fixes, shaping a grant application for a new bike path and plans for downtown bike racks. The effort sparked lasting engagement: a task force formed to push improvements, and residents who once had no outlet for their passion for biking are now driving change. One volunteer said that she is excited to see more bike parks in the community as well as other necessary amenities.
Rancho Cordova, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Bike Audits
Description: Rancho Cordova's first roundabout raised safety concerns for cyclists and pedestrians along Lincoln Village Drive, a one-mile stretch with 15 intersections where cars often speed. Volunteers conducted a bike audit, reviewing proposed traffic calming measures and sharing feedback with city staff. Their input will guide quick-build improvements within six months and shape long-term plans, including an upcoming repaving project. One participant noted, "Talking through the proposed traffic calming has changed how I think...about the bike trails and intersections in my own neighborhood."
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Wake Forest, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Walk Audits
Description: This project will conduct five walk audits over five months. Older volunteers will assist and present findings to the Town. Results will be included in the Age-Friendly Action Plan.
Raleigh, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: As part of efforts to set up a new community center at a donated house, the City of Oaks Foundation purchased furnishings and equipment to host events onsite. To get the property ready, the Foundation hosted several volunteer days, where community members helped restore trails and clear underbrush onsite. In the months that followed, programming at the Joslin House and Garden ranged from plein air painting, art showings, a nature event featuring live owls and other creatures, a mother-grandmother tea, gardening workshops and a lecture on World Way I history. Project organizers say these events -- and others -- have helped with fundraising efforts as work on the house and surrounding gardens continues. The Foundation estimates more than 400 visitors each year have attended events in the community space, with many others visiting to stroll the property.
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